


Split Lip

by charliewrites



Category: Lovely Little Losers, Nothing Much to Do
Genre: Established Relationship, Love, M/M, Slurs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-09
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-06-01 05:55:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6503584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charliewrites/pseuds/charliewrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter returns home from a night on the town with a split lip.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Split Lip

**Author's Note:**

> So there's a single homophobic slur and a lot of love. Oh, and I had a hard time figuring out how to write the way Peter would talk. I think it's understandable - although I feel like I should say that when he says 'wave' he's trying to say 'babe'.
> 
> It's just a silly little story because I couldn't get the idea out of my head. Hope you enjoy it!

A strange noise woke Balthazar up. It was still dark outside. He sat up, listening for what had pulled him from his restless sleep. He had gotten way too used to sleeping with Peter by his side, because whenever Peter had a late shift at the bar and/or decided to go out, Balthazar found that he couldn’t quite settle down properly, resulting in the slightest noise waking him. 

The front door closed and there was shuffling and… sniffling? Was someone crying?

Balthazar got out of bed, moving toward the sound coming from the kitchen. The lights were off so he had to squint at the figure roaming through the medicine cupboard. 

‘Pete?’ he asked sleepily, rubbing his eye with a yawn. 

Peter froze for a second before carefully resuming his search in the darkness, his back turned. 

‘Hey wave, sorry if I woke you. Go wack to wed. I’ll we in, in a vinute’ he said, obviously trying hard to sound casual, but something was off. He wasn’t pronouncing the words quite right, as if he had something in his mouth. His voice was raspy. 

‘Are you okay?’ Balthazar asked, worried, frowning. 

‘Fine. Where do we kee’ the wainkillers?’ Peter asked, his voice quivering a little. 

‘Bottom shelf. Here, let me get the lights’ Balthazar said and switched on the light. He squinted, his eyes needing a moment to adjust to the change in lighting, but he didn’t miss Peter wincing when the light came on. 

‘Right, here they are’ Peter mumbled, grabbing the packet and closing the cupboard but not moving. He just stood there, looking down at the packet. 

Balthazar moved to get a glass, filling it with water and setting it down on the counter beside Peter. His heart dropped when he saw Peter’s profile. 

Peter’s lower lip was swollen, dried blood all over his chin, his eyes red and still leaking tears. 

‘Pete, what happened?’ Balthazar asked, lightly touching Peter’s cheek with his fingertips. 

‘Nothing; it’s fine’ Peter said, smiling at him briefly before he winced in pain, his hand moving up to hover over his lip. 

Balthazar fixed him with a disbelieving look before turning around, getting some stuff from the medicine cupboard. Then he led Peter by the hand to their kitchen table, urging him to sit down. Sitting down next to his boyfriend, he got a proper look at the damage. 

Peter looked uncomfortable, but let Balthazar examine the wound nonetheless. He winced in pain when Balthazar started cleaning the dried blood away from his chin and lip. 

‘I think we should get you to the hospital, just to be sure’ Balthazar said as he was carefully moving the wet cloth over his boyfriend’s face. 

‘Nah, they’ll just do what you’re doing and give ne an ice fack.’ Peter said, refusing to look Balthazar in the eye. 

‘Yeah, but I’d rather be on the safe side. I can’t tell if you need stitches or not’ Balthazar said, moving to the freezer where he pulled out a packet of frozen peas, wrapping them in a dry wash cloth and handing it to Peter. 

‘It’s not that wad’ Peter said, carefully applying the ice pack to his lip. 

They were quiet for a moment. Balthazar packed away the things he’d pulled from the medicine cupboard and got himself a glass of water. He was waiting for Peter to start explaining when he was ready to. 

‘You don’t have to sit up with ne. You can should go wack to wed’ Peter said after a few minutes, still refusing to meet Balthazar’s eye. 

‘Yeah, because I’ll definitely be able to sleep, knowing you’re sitting out here with a split lip’ Balthazar said, leaning back in his seat, raising his eyebrows at Peter. 

When Peter looked up at Balthazar, his eyes were filled with tears; it was heartbreaking. Then he put his head in the hand that was not holding the ice pack to his lip. 

‘Fuck, Walth, I’n such a screw-up!’ he said with a sob. 

‘Hey now’ Balthazar said softly, moving his chair closer to Peter so that he could put his arms around him, his forehead resting against Balthazar’s chest. ‘You are not a screw-up’

‘Yeah, I an’ Peter’s voice was thick, and Balthazar could feel his T-shirt getting damp with tears. 

‘Okay, but you’re _my_ screw-up’ he said, lightly massaging Peter’s scalp to calm him down. ‘And I love you. So will you please tell me what happened? Because I’m not liking the scenarios my mind is making up’

Peter sniffled and pulled back, tears still spilling down his cheeks. Balthazar reached out and wiped them away, his hand resting on Peter’s cheek as he looked him in the eyes. He looked so ashamed. 

‘It was stuwid’ Peter eventually said, turning the ice pack a little. 

Balthazar just kept looking at him, raising his eyebrows to prompt him to continue. 

‘After work Jacquie and I went out and we ended u’ at this var, right?’ Peter began, looking down. He sighed heavily, his breath ragged. ‘I started talking to this guy and so’ehow we ended u’ talking a’out so’ething that involved ne nentioning that I have a woyfriend. He got really angry and called ne a fag, and I just… I don’t know, I said so’ething that made hi’ funch ne’

Balthazar digested the story while Peter kept his eyes resolutely on his knees.

‘So what happened next?’ Balthazar asked calmly, taking Peter’s hand. 

‘I don’t know. The wouncer kicked the guy out. Jacquie fut ne in a cav. All I could think a’out was how you would’ve handled it wetter’ 

‘Well, maybe not better, I’d say “differently”. But, Pete, we’re different people. I hate confrontation. You stood up for yourself. That’s an admirable quality, even if it lands you in these situations sometimes’ Balthazar said, squeezing Peter’s hand, making Peter look up at him. 

‘So you don’t think I’n useless?’

The hopelessness in his eyes broke Balthazar’s heart, and he put the hand that was not holding Peter’s on top of their joined hands, looking Peter straight in the eye. 

‘I would never, ever, think that. I love you, flaws and all’ 

Peter blinked out another tear, but the smallest smile was appearing on his lip. 

‘I love you too, wore than anything’ he said, his voice thick and quivering. 

Balthazar leaned in and kissed the corner of Peter’s mouth that was not swollen, before wrapping his arms around him and hugging him tightly.

**Author's Note:**

> So I don't know if I like how it turned out, but there it is. I considered making it so that Pete had been in a full blown fight, but I honestly believe that he's all talk.


End file.
